(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to a trigger sprayer which is connectable to two container volumes containing separate liquids. The sprayer has a trigger that is manipulated to draw the separate liquids into two separate pump chambers and then supply the two separate liquids from the pump chambers to a discharge passage of the sprayer. In the discharge passage the two separate liquids are mixed together prior to their being dispensed from the discharge passage as a spray.
(2) Description of the Related Art
Trigger sprayers are those types of sprayers having pivoting triggers that are manually manipulated to dispense liquids from the sprayers. A typical trigger sprayer is connected to a liquid container for dispensing the contents of the container as a spray, stream, or foam in response to manual reciprocation of the trigger. This type of trigger sprayer has been employed in the past in dispensing various different types of liquids from containers to which the trigger sprayers have been attached. However, the conventional trigger sprayer has drawbacks when employed with certain types of liquids.
Certain liquids dispensed from conventional trigger sprayers are the product of two or more separate component liquids that remain stable while separated but have a limited shelf life when they are mixed together. Trigger sprayers attached to containers containing liquids of this type cannot remain in storage or on a store shelf for a prolonged period of time before the liquid product begins to lose its effectiveness. To employ conventional trigger sprayers for dispensing liquids of this type and to ensure that the shelf life of the liquid product does not expire before the product is sold, the separate liquid components of the final liquid product must be mixed together to produce the final liquid product just prior to the liquid product being packaged in the containers and shipped to the market where they are offered for sale.
In addition, some liquid products are comprised of one or more component liquids that do not readily mix with each other, for example, water and oil. When liquid products of this type are packaged in containers with trigger sprayers, the separate liquid components that make up the final product tend to separate from each other while the product is stored in inventory or while the product sits on a store shelf awaiting sale. In use of a conventional sprayer containing a product of this type, after the component liquids of the final product had separated out, operation of the trigger sprayer would result in dispensing only that liquid component that had settled to the bottom of the container. In the oil and water example, only the water component of the liquid would be dispensed initially from the sprayer. Once all of the water had been dispensed, then only oil would be dispensed from the sprayer.
Various multiple-compartment trigger sprayers have been designed to overcome the problems associated with the conventional trigger sprayer employed in dispensing liquid products having limited shelf life and/or components that tend to separate from each other over time. These new designs include trigger sprayers that are attached to liquid containers that keep the component parts of a liquid product separate from each other until they are drawn from the containers by the trigger sprayers. Trigger sprayers of this type include sprayers that mix the separate component parts of a liquid product for the first time in the pump chambers of the sprayers prior to their being dispensed. However, even these newer designs of trigger sprayers have drawbacks. Once the trigger sprayer pump chamber is primed with the two components of the final liquid product, as the trigger sprayer sits between uses the shelf life of the liquid product in the pump chamber could expire. Also, the separate liquid components of the final product could separate from each other in the sprayer pump chamber. As a result, the next time the trigger sprayer is operated, the liquid first dispensed from the sprayer would be that contained in the pump chamber. This liquid could have an expired shelf life or separated component liquids. In either situation, the quality of the liquid first dispensed from the sprayer would be less than that expected.
It is an object of the present invention to overcome the disadvantages associated with prior art trigger sprayers employed in dispensing liquids comprised of at least two separate component liquids. The trigger sprayer of the present invention keeps the two component liquids separate from each other until they are mixed together for the first time in the discharge passage of the sprayer just prior to their being dispensed from the sprayer. Thus, the problems of expired shelf life and/or separation of component liquids in the container or trigger sprayer are avoided.
The trigger sprayer of the present invention is designed to be attached to a container containing two separate liquid components. The two liquid components are mixed together into a final liquid product by the sprayer just prior to their being dispensed from the sprayer. The sprayer of the invention may be connected to two separate containers containing the two separate liquid components, or alternatively may be connected to a single liquid container having a partition in its interior dividing the container into two separate container volumes containing the separate liquid components.
The trigger sprayer of the invention includes a sprayer housing that is basically comprised of two separate sections, a pump chamber section and a vent chamber section. These two sections are molded separate from each other for manufacturing economy, and then are assembled together to form the housing of the trigger sprayer.
Contained within the housing is a fluid discharge passage. A nozzle assembly having a liquid discharge orifice is inserted into one end of the discharge passage and an inlet opening is provided adjacent an end wall at the opposite end of the discharge passage. A fluid spinner is contained in the discharge passage adjacent the discharge orifice and a one-way valve is contained in the discharge passage adjacent the inlet opening.
A pair of separate pump chambers are provided in the pump chamber section of the housing. Each chamber has a piston mounted for reciprocating movement therein. Each of the pump pistons is connected to a single trigger mounted to the sprayer housing for pivoting movement of the trigger relative to the housing. The pump pistons are reciprocated in their respective pump chambers in response to pivoting movement of the trigger.
A pair of separate vent chambers are provided in the vent chamber section of the sprayer housing. Each vent chamber of the pair communicates with one of the two separate container volumes through a vent passageway that extends between the vent chamber and its associated container volume. A pair of vent pistons are contained in the vent chambers for reciprocating movement of the pistons therein. The reciprocating movement of the vent pistons in the vent chambers opens and closes communication between an exterior environment of the sprayer housing and the two separate container volumes through the pair of vent passageways and the pair of vent chambers. Each of the vent pistons is operatively connected to the trigger and reciprocates in its associated vent chamber in response to pivoting movement of the trigger on the sprayer housing.
A pair of separate liquid passageways extends through the sprayer housing. The pair of passageways communicate the pair of pump chambers with the inlet opening of the fluid discharge passage through a pair of exit openings in the end wall of the discharge passage. The pair of liquid passageways also communicate the two pump chambers with the two separate container volumes. Each of the liquid passageways has a check valve therein. The check valves of the two liquid passageways permit the two separate liquids contained in the two separate container volumes to be drawn through the passageways to the pair of pump chambers in response to reciprocating movement of the pump pistons within their respective chambers. The check valves prevent the reverse flow of liquid from the pump chambers back through the passageways to the two separate container volumes. The two separate liquids drawn into the two separate pump chambers are pumped from the two pump chambers through the liquid passageways and the pair of exit openings into the inlet opening of the discharge passage where the two separate liquids are mixed together for the first time. The flow of the two liquids through the two exit openings into the discharge passage inlet is controlled by the one-way valve in the discharge passage. The one-way valve permits the flow of the two separate liquids through the exit openings to the inlet opening, but prevents the reverse flow of liquid from the inlet opening through the pair of exit openings. The two separate liquids mixed together in the discharge passage form the final liquid product that is pumped through the fluid spinner in the discharge passage and is dispensed from the trigger sprayer through the nozzle orifice.